sea kale
/'si:'keil/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A perennial plant: "Sea kale" refers to a hardy, perennial plant (Crambe maritima) that grows naturally on coastal beaches, shingle, and sands in parts of northern Europe and around the Baltic and Black Seas.
- An edible plant: It is cultivated for its large, fleshy, blue-green leaves and young shoots, which are often blanched and used as a vegetable or potherb. It produces racemes of small, white flowers.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- The sea kale growing on the shingle beach is surprisingly resilient to salt spray.
- We harvested the young shoots of the sea kale to cook as a spring vegetable.
- The garden featured a bed dedicated to perennial vegetables like sea kale.
Advanced Usage
- "Forced sea kale": Refers to the horticultural practice of forcing the plant's growth in darkness to produce tender, blanched shoots, a method similar to that used for rhubarb.
- The forced sea kale had a more delicate flavor than the plants grown in full sun.
Variants and Related Words
- Crambe maritima (n): The botanical Latin name for sea kale.
- Coastal plant (n): A general term for plants, like sea kale, adapted to grow in coastal environments.
Synonyms
- Coastal cabbage: An informal name referencing its family and habitat.
- Sea cole: An archaic or variant name for the same plant.
Related Phrases
- "Sea kale beet": This is a compound term and not a direct variant of "sea kale." It is another name for Swiss chard (), a different plant entirely, and should not be confused with true sea kale.
Related Idioms
Noun
- perennial of coastal sands and shingles of northern Europe and Baltic and Black Seas having racemes of small white flowers and large fleshy blue-green leaves often used as potherbs